Here are a few ways to keep your COVID-19 vaccination card safe

Have your COVID-19 vaccination card?

The card may be your ticket to traveling this summer. Some destinations abroad will require you to provide proof of vaccination before entering the country, and several cruise lines only are selling tickets to those who are fully vaccinated, Forbes recently reported.

Data about vaccine recipients currently isn’t being stored in a central database, so the card is your best proof of vaccination.

If you’re worried about losing or damaging your card, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends taking a photo of the card as a backup copy. But don’t post the photo to social media, the Better Business Bureau warns. The card not only contains personal information useful to scammers, but also gives them an easy way to replicate and sell fake versions.

Another way to store your vaccination information is to enroll in v-safe, a smartphone tool created by the CDC to monitor vaccine safety and side effects. The tool also lets you access your vaccine information.

Some businesses, such as Office Depot and Staples, are offering free lamination services to protect vaccination cards. But you should only do that after you’ve received your second dose so the card can easily be updated, according to MarketWatch.

The County of Sonoma doesn’t have an official policy on whether or not to laminate vaccination cards, but everyone who is vaccinated should receive a card before they leave the vaccination site.

If you can’t find your card and don’t have a backup copy, the CDC recommends contacting your vaccine provider or the California Department of Public Health’s immunization information system at CAIRHelpdesk@cdph.ca.gov or 800-578-7889.

Residents who lost their card after their first dose and weren’t able to receive a replacement should still talk to a vaccination provider about getting a second dose, according to the CDC.

For more information, go here.